diff --git a/tools/cpp/unix_cc_configure.bzl b/tools/cpp/unix_cc_configure.bzl
index c33cadcfb40b80..222acc5a7fed9d 100644
--- a/tools/cpp/unix_cc_configure.bzl
+++ b/tools/cpp/unix_cc_configure.bzl
@@ -617,7 +617,7 @@ def configure_unix_toolchain(repository_ctx, cpu_value, overriden_tools):
                 ],
             ),
             "%{opt_link_flags}": get_starlark_list(
-                [] if darwin else _add_linker_option_if_supported(
+                ["-Wl,-dead_strip"] if darwin else _add_linker_option_if_supported(
                     repository_ctx,
                     cc,
                     "-Wl,--gc-sections",